New to the 4.6's and looking for cam's

Demented4.6

Founding Member
Mar 14, 2001
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DAYTON, OHIO
Ok i have a 97 GT with a stock 4.6. I have a good pile of parts awaiting some free time for me to install. the parts i plan on installing are Windsor PI heads, PI intake (FRPP swap kit), 70mm throttle body, 24lb injectors and a 255lph pump. One thing i really want is to get the nice lopey idle i had in my 88. So my basic question is what cams would give me a nice lopey idle and good power with a mostly stock 4.6 pi swapped?
 
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I would check out modular head shop and talk to nick.. I am really impressed with their cams..


BTW to run any sort of cam thats going to give you a lumpy idle on a pi swapped NPI car your going to have to notch the pistons unless you run a cam thats really retarded and you don't want to do that. You might be able to get away with swapping the valves for ones with a thinner valve face but I would talk to nick
 
a retarded cam. No no, no retards in my car LOL LOL.. Well i never thought about Piston to valve problems. Well i wonder if i would be better to stick with the NPI heads and just do everything else

Well the idea setup would be to notch the pistons and get the PI heads ported so you will have the higher compression of putting the PI heads on and running some stage 3 or 3.5 modular head shop cams..


Depends on what you want out of your car, the main problem with the NPI cars is the cams and intake. if you go with a PI intake and some decent cams you will be ok with the NPI heads.
 
well this car is just to be a decent weekend driver as i already had a built fox and now want something to cruise around in with the wife and kid. I loved the sound of my H/C/I fox which was all trick flow and anderson cam. So i would love for this car to have the same lumpy aggressive idle and get somewhere in the realm of 250-300hp. although the power is less and less important to me with the other fast toys i have in the garage.

The parts i have came with the car uninstalled and i am learning all i can about the 4.6 motors. I just really want to do this once and not have to tear the motor apart more than once. So im hoping you guys who know more than i would know my best route with minimal modifications and keep it dependable.
 
Man there are so many threads like this, people wanting the lopy idle. The thing is having a lopy idle/hardcore cams without the supporting mods on a modular motor IE: just throwing some aggressive cams on a stock motor, arent going to do you any good but get you the sound you want.

The logical thing to do is get some cams custom ground for your specific application/motor. Do all the bolt-ons, get your heads ported and then get it dyno-tuned with some custom ground cams if you want something that makes sense. Otherwise, if you just want the sound get some stg. 3's but your not going to get the maximum power output, really it makes no sense in my mind, its like a ricer putting a huge wing on their car, it looks good but makes no practical sense...
 
you make complete sense and i was more asking is there a known cam setup that would be a good choice for my setup with a good lopey idle. see its simple with 5.0l motors and as im not all that knowledgeable in the 4.6 world, that was pretty much the answer i needed.
 
get a nice stage 1 cam, with a CAI, T/B and plenium, o/h mid pipe and cat back and a 410 gear it would be a strong running car.

NPI heads can make great power with the right combination of parts!

this is true there is nothing wrong with the NPI heads.. in fact you can get away with a much more aggressive cam with the NPI's.. but to be honest even with a stock PI intake your not going to get the potential out of it. if your going to go aggresive with the cam you might as well port the hell out of the NPI's.. When i bought my car it came with PI heads not installed. Only reason i use the PI's is for the slight bump in compression. Right now it's not worth it but I plan on taking this motor apart after next track season and going with a much more aggressive build.


Funny thing is my car could even end up with the NPI castings back on it ported at somepoint if I change my mind on the N/A nitrous build
 
you make complete sense and i was more asking is there a known cam setup that would be a good choice for my setup with a good lopey idle. see its simple with 5.0l motors and as im not all that knowledgeable in the 4.6 world, that was pretty much the answer i needed.

I understand completely, i came from having 3 5.0's (86,91 and a 94), the 5.0's Are more simple when it comes to choosing a h/c/i combination, part in the fact that there are so many more options because the motor has been around longer.

What I would do if i was in your boots is get a pair of N/A cams from Modular powerhouse and a dyno tune. Modular powerhouse makes great stuff! Tim is legendary in the modular mustang tuning world...

Modular PowerHouse

BTW you will probalby need to upgrade the springs too...
 
you make complete sense and i was more asking is there a known cam setup that would be a good choice for my setup with a good lopey idle. see its simple with 5.0l motors and as im not all that knowledgeable in the 4.6 world, that was pretty much the answer i needed.

just remember that with any 4.6 cam the stock ford cam gears can be quite a bit off, it's a good idea to degree them not only for power but to make sure your not going to have PTV contact.

if you do not have the ability to or want to degree them you can get a set of matched stock cam gears that can help you make your install easier.

If you want a lump idle I understand that. I too love a lumpy idle and you can get it but without the supporting mods you will not get the full amount of potential out of the car.

If your using the PI heads look at cams that are for PI cars.. the reason for this is the PI head equipped cars even with PI pistons will run into PTV problems that a NPI head car won't
 
Just curious, but why Windsor swap parts on a Romeo motor? Did you get a good deal on them?

It will work, just a few extra parts involved... plus pressed on cam gears for the Windsor versus bolt on for the Romeo.
 
Just curious, but why Windsor swap parts on a Romeo motor? Did you get a good deal on them?

It will work, just a few extra parts involved... plus pressed on cam gears for the Windsor versus bolt on for the Romeo.

It all came with the car. I honestly don't know one from the other.
This is the complete list of parts that came with the car

PI heads/cams/intake
- Painted Windsor Valve covers for the heads
- FRPP Head Gasket changing kit
- 24 LB injectors
- 80 MM MAF
- 70mm TB and plenum
- Subframe Connectors
- 255 LPH Fuel Pump

- Zex 100 HP dry shot of nitrous (everything included down to the switches and brackets)
- MSD window switch for nitrous
- Custom Purge line to shoot out the side of the hood

Now i am just assuming from the fact they are Windsor valve covers that they are also windsor heads.

Also I have no plans to use the nitrous and am trying to sell it. Any takers??
 
It all came with the car. I honestly don't know one from the other.
This is the complete list of parts that came with the car

PI heads/cams/intake
- Painted Windsor Valve covers for the heads
- FRPP Head Gasket changing kit
- 24 LB injectors
- 80 MM MAF
- 70mm TB and plenum
- Subframe Connectors
- 255 LPH Fuel Pump

- Zex 100 HP dry shot of nitrous (everything included down to the switches and brackets)
- MSD window switch for nitrous
- Custom Purge line to shoot out the side of the hood

Now i am just assuming from the fact they are Windsor valve covers that they are also windsor heads.

Also I have no plans to use the nitrous and am trying to sell it. Any takers??

put a ad up in the classifieds here on stangnet i am sure you will find somebody but you can't mention it on here